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Sombra de Mar
Sombra de Mar was the president of the Marian Republic and prospective chief antagonist of Imperium Offtopicum: The Aftermath. He led the nation from two years before the game's start to his abrupt disappearance after the Japanese atomic bombing of Kinshasa. He is widely suspected to have authorized the nuclear strike on the Federation of Petrograd, and is wanted by the New Hetmanate for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Etymology "Sombra" is the Spanish word for "Shadow", Taniciusfox's favorite character in Sonic the Hedgehog. This reference is also seen in Sombra's black, red, and white coloring. The "Mar" doesn't derive from the word for the ocean in Spanish, but from "Marius", the founder of the original Marian Federation. Marius also means "Son of Mars," Mars being the Roman god of War. Pregame history Origins and Operarius coup Sombra was created under Operarius' "Black Project" that sought to develop biological superweapons. One of three surviving prototypes, his design aimed for superhuman strength; as with both his siblings, he failed to meet expectations, but nevertheless possesses higher-than-average physical fortitude. Dissatisfied over the costly failure, Operarius ordered the project terminated and everyone involved executed, but the prototypes escaped and joined the resistance movement, Sombra's commanding presence quickly elevating him to a leadership role. On the assault on the palace, Sombra, alongside Isabel and Blitz, confronted a helpless Operarius on the rooftop. Despite his companions' call that Operarius be brought to trial, Sombra brutally savaged the dictator and subsequently defiled the corpse. Rise to power Sombra left the transitional government to study what remained of the Black Project just as the first elections were organized. He briefly returned to Kinshasa to witness the election, then returned permanently for the inauguration ceremony. After the republic succumbed to economic recession, Sombra founded the Social Nationalist party, campaigning on a platform that promised a restoration of national strength and extensive social welfare programs, but that was also explicitly discriminatory against humans. Sombra won a landslide victory over Blitz; while he was friendly in his victory speech, Blitz pointedly refused to shake his hand afterwards. Sombra's government promptly escalated anti-Human policy, establishing a separate court, and legislating that humans did not "need" equal education. In his second year in power, human emigration became subsidized by the state (so-called "Détente"), and abortion was granted to humans, but not Kaetif; orphanages were also given funding grants for accepting humans. Despite aversion to technology and the establishment of the National Science Agency specifically to repress it, Sombra's government was extremely receptive to green tech, investing in a city planning system dubbed "Harmonia". Experiments were also conducted into recovering Yellow Zones ("Renaciamento"), one of the few issues on which Sombra was willing to co-operate with the international community. Year Three, i.e. The Game As the world began to reconnect for the first time in 20 years, Sombra's isolationist stance softened rapidly, and the Marian Republic established trade relations with its new neighbours. Sombra remained by-and-large co-operative on the world stage until he attempted to intervene on behalf of the Kaetif in the fascist state of Cantabria Libre, sparking the "Cantabria Crisis" that permanently damaged relations with the Federation of Petrograd. The Marians' reputation was further marred by the Brazzaville dispute after an ill-conceived ultimatum nearly provoked nuclear escalation. Disappearance In the third week of April, the Marians' long-time enemy, the Empire of the Rising Sun, conducted a nuclear sneak-attack that obliterated Kinshasa and surrounding provinces. Sombra, wary from Brazzaville, had retreated to South America and deployed an emergency kill switch that shut down communication across the country. At the same time, he launched an ICBM at Petrograd in a mad attempt to trigger a world war before vanishing into the South American wastelands. The plot backfired when Petrograd held off retaliation, the New Hetmanate instead organizing a joint strike force to neutralize Marian nuclear capability and arrest Sombra. Leaderless in the face of the coalition, the Marian Republic splintered. Charges of crimes against humanity Sombra believed that Kaetif were superior to humans, which he derided as "disgusting, furless beasts" and "unevolved", scapegoating them for all the problems of both the Kaetif and the Marian nation. The Sombristas were accused from early on of concerted discrimination against humans. Marian policy suggested genocidal intent: despite instituting a universal healthcare program, human patients tended to receive less effective treatment, excused as the result of "physiological differences". Poor living conditions meant humans were the most likely to be incarcerated, constituted the overwhelming majority of the unemployment labour camp workforce (a fact suppressed by government propaganda), and as a result were strongly inclined to volunteer for military service, where they were frequently dispatched to combat Abhorrents in the Red Zones. Petrograd in particular began blasting the Marians for systematic persecution during and after the Cantabria standoff, going so far as to begin drafting a formal complaint to the United Nations (Resolution 418), although it was never completed. Official charges were only laid by the Hetmanate as part of the wider condemnation against the Marian nuclear strike on Petrograd. See also * Marian Republic * Kaetif Genome Project